Scrap sheet metal balers



June 13, 1961 J. L. FREEMAN SCRAP SHEET METAL BALERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March 26, 1959 BY z ' ATmMEY June 13, 1961 J L. FREEMAN 2,987,989

SCRAP SHEET METAL BALERS Filed March 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zfm "H 'mi INVENTOR.

Patented June 13, 1961 2,987,989 SCRAP SHEET METAL BALERS Jack L.Freeman, Box 488, Montrose, Colo. Filed Mar. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 802,0552 Claims. (Cl. 100218) This invention relates to a plant for reclaimingscrap sheet metal of the type commonly known among the trade as tin. Itis economically difiicult to reclaim scrap sheet metal or tin due to thevariety of sizes and shapes of the scrap metal and to the relativelightness of the metal in proportion to the bulk of the scrap.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an economicalmechanism which will quickly and easily, and with a of investment,convert truck loads of tin into compact, compressed, self-sustainingbales for economical handling and delivery to a steel mill.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this characterin which all of the expensive, hydraulic and mechanically operatedpresses are completely eliminated and in which gravity is employed toobtain the baling pressure required.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of theinvention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency.These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is hadto the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numeralsrefer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout thedescription.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the improved sheet metal reclaiming plant;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through a baling cylinder employed in theimproved plant;

FIG. 3 is a cross section through the baling cylinder taken on the line3-3, FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a similar cross section taken on the line 44, FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective View illustrating a type of bale hook employedin the improved reclaiming plant.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, detail perspective view illustrating theextremity of a door strap as employed in the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a similar fragmentary, detail perspective view illustrating ameans for locking the strap extremity of FIG. 6 in place.

Briefly, the invention comprises elevated truck ramp 10 upon which sheetmetal salvage strucks may be driven to dump the metal scrap or tin intoa flared hopper-like top 12 of a vertical, cylindrical baling cylinder11. A relatively heavy crusher weight 13 is allowed to drop by gravityinto the cylinder 11 to crush and press the scrap into a compact,self-sustaining circular bale, such as indicated at 14 which ishorizontally withdrawn from the bottom of the cylinder.

In actual practice, the scrap is pounded downwardly and compressed upona bale hook 15, such as shown in FIG. 2, which is positioned in thebottom of the cylinder 11 before the scrap is dumped therein. The bale14 of compacted metal is withdrawn from the cylinder through an 180 dooropening in the side and at the bottom of the cylinder which can beclosed by means of two swinging doors 16 hingedly mounted upon suitablehinges 17 positioned at opposite sides of the cylinder.

The weight 13 is lifted and dropped through the medium of a conventionalpower crane apparatus 18 arranged to operate a hoist cable 20, a craneboom 19, and a dragline cable 21. The latter cable is provided with aring 22 which can be dropped over a hooked extremity 23 on the bale hook15 for withdrawing the compressed bale 14 from the cylinder 11.

It can be readily seen that the scrap metal or in dumped from the truckson the ramp 10 can be pounded down into the cylinder 11 by repeatedlyhoisting and dropping the crusher weight 13 similar to the manner of apile driver and that when the accumulated amount of compressed metalsubstantially equals the height of the doors 16, the latter can be swungopen and the resulting bale can be quickly and easily pulled from thecylinder by means of the dragline cable 21.

The crusher weight 13 preferably comprises a heavy steel platebucket-like cylinder filled with solidified concrete and provided on itsexterior with vertical, spaced, guide members 24 preferably consistingof lengths of railroad welded to the cylinder. The guide members 24 arepreferably beveled at their lower extremities to facilitate entranceinto the cylinder 11. The weight is provided with suitable cross beams25 carrying a cable pulley 26 beneath which the hoist cable 20 istrained. The cylinder 11 is preferably supported upon a concrete footing27 and is formed from relatively heavy steel plate riveted or weldedtogether and may be of lighter gauge metal adjacent its top thanadjacent its bottom for the more extreme internal pressure occursadjacent the bottom of the cylinder.

A vertical, relatively heavy reinforcing angle iron 28 is welded to eachside of the baling cylinder below the ramp 10 and the cylinder is cutaway for one half its circumference adjacent the bottom thereof betweenthe angle irons 28 to form the door opening for the doors 16. Each ofthe doors 16 comprises substantially one fourth the circumference of thecylinder 11 so that when closed, they will complete the circumference ofthe cylinder. The hinges 17 are welded to the angle irons 28 and thedoors may be maintained closed in any suitable manner. As illustrated,the doors are maintained closed by means of arcuate top and bottomstraps 29 having T-shaped extremities 30, as shown in FIG. 7, which arepassed through openings 34 in the vertical angle irons 28 and aresecured in place therein by pivoted locking levers 31 which can be swunginto place behind the T-shaped extremities 30 of the straps after thelatter are in place in the angle irons 28, as shown in FIG. 6.

The bale hook 15 may be formed in any desired man ner, preferably, itconsists of a relatively heavy, Y-shaped iron bar with sharpened points32 welded to and extending upwardly from its inner extremities and withthe cable hook 23 hinged to its stem extremity. The lower edges of thedoors 16 are suitably notched as shown in FIG. 1 so that the cable hook23 will protrude from the bale for ready attachment of the draglinecable 21.

It can be seen that the crane apparatus 18 with its cable 29 and 21 forma unitary combination with the crusher weight 13 and the cylinder 11 tocontinuously form and deliver compressed bales of scrap sheet metal andthat the pressure used to compact the bales 14 is natural gravitythereby eliminating all of the exceedingly expensive hydraulic pressesand the like generally used for this purpose.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described andillustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may :be variedwithin the scope of the appended claims, without depanting from thespirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired securedby Letters Patent is:

1. Means for baling scrap metal comprising: a vertically positionedbaling cylinder having an open top; a crushing weight to a size to fitfreely within said cylinder; a crane apparatus connected with saidWeight and arranged to elevate said weight above and in axial align- 72,987,989 r 3 4 ment with said cylinder and then drop said weight byReferences Cited in the file of this patent gravity into said cylinderto crush and pack scrap metal therein; one side of the bottom of saidcylinder having UNITED STATES PATENTS a discharge opening therein;hingedlyrmounted doors 10,956 Beach May 23, 1854 closing said opening,said doors being arc'uately shaped to 5 36,751 Briggs Oct. 21, 1862conform tothe curvature of the wall of said cylinder; 7, 47 M66011 Sept.11, 1866 means for locking said doors in alignment with. said 94,257Trablle A g. 1869 cylinder; a bale hook positioned in the bottom of said277,101 Babcock May 8, 1883 cylinder upon which said scrap metal iscompacted; and 293,699 Anketeu 1884 a dragline cable adapted to beconnected with said bale 10 647'490 Heath 1900 hook for Withdrawing thecompacted metal through said 7O8095 Thprmon et Sapt' 1902 discharge p gGl'lifin Dec-16,

737,427 Lemberg Aug. 25, 1903 a 2. Means for baling scrap metal asdescribed in claim 1 833 753 Smmd at al Oct 23 1906 in which the craneapparatus is employed for furnishing 15 905926 Rispel Dec 1908 drawingSaid dmglinfl 2,6751718 v Finm TIIIIIIIIk r. 20, 1954

